


The proper care and nurturing of a depressed Devil dog

by MrsRidcully



Series: The proper care and nurturing of a depressed Devil dog [1]
Category: Generation Kill
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Rays sad and needs a hug, Sharing and Caring, there may be smut actually there will be smut in later chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-09 06:11:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11098566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsRidcully/pseuds/MrsRidcully
Summary: “I know that both Brad and Gunny have tried reaching out but you have not returned one call or email, they are-“ Nate paused, correcting himself. “We are worried about you “





	1. The sudden and unexpected arrival

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nanuk_dain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanuk_dain/gifts).



> This is a work of fiction and no disrespect is ment to the real men or Actors of Generation Kill
> 
>  
> 
> This is my first fic in the Generation Kill fandom hope it does not disapoint , a big thanks to #emono-omae for fixing my mistakes 
> 
> And #nanuk_dain for inspiring Me

Chapter 1 The Sudden and unexpected arrival 

The last thing Nate expected on this late fall afternoon was to find one Josh Ray Person curled up asleep by the front door of his small apartment. Looking down on the sleeping form of Ray, Nate noted how young he looked and that he had not gained any of the weight back after OIF. In fact, Nate looked like he had lost more even weight 

“Hey Ray”

Hazel eyes opened owlishly and a slightly lopsided grin fixed itself on Ray’s face. “Hey Lieutenant, so are you gonna invite me in or should I just go? Actually I should go. I am sorry, Sir, I have no idea why I thought this would be a good idea and I am going to go.”

As Ray got himself to his feet, Nate snagged him by the elbow. Just by looking at Ray, Nate could see that something was badly off with the former R.T.O. He had to admit to himself and only himself that he had a soft spot for the slightly nutty and maniacal Ray Person.

“No, Ray you're going to come inside and tell me why you're here.”   
Nate slipped into lieutenant mode easily and knew it would make getting Ray inside easier. Opening the door Nate dragged in the reluctant Ray. Depositing the strangely quiet R.T.O on the sofa, Nate made his way to the small kitchen switching lights on to dispel the late afternoon glow.

Nate’s voice floated out from the kitchen. “First coffee then talk right,” in a tone that brooked no argument.

Coming out of the kitchen with the two mugs of coffee, Nate could see that Ray was fidgeting with the worn straps of his ratty pack. He noted the dark circles and withdrawn look in Ray's eyes. Normally Ray’s face was a lesson in humour and barely restrained energy, this quiet withdrawn man was not the loudmouthed overwhelming whisky tango nut job that Bravo had come to love and loath with equal measure. Nate felt a strange and sudden feeling of wanting to comfort Ray. 

“So the word around the knitting circle is that you dropped off the face of the planet for the last six months. It was assumed you had gone home when you did not re-up,” Nate asked as he handed the mug to Ray.  
Nate sat on the edge of the coffee table across from Ray. He continued to speak, keeping his tone firm knowing this may be the way to get Ray to open up.

“I know that both Brad and Gunny have tried reaching out but you have not returned one call or email, they are—” Nate corrected himself. “—We are worried about you “ 

Lifting his eyes from the mug in his hand Ray fixed his solemn gaze with Nate’s. “I did go home for a couple of months, even got some work at a local electronics store but it just felt like nothing was like it was. Everything had changed.” Ray stopped speaking to take a large drink of his coffee, looking at his mug he continued. “Or most likely they stayed the same and I changed.”  
He leaned back into the sofa and his closed his eyes. “I couldn’t stay there. I fixed my truck and just left. Been driving nowhere for the last four months then ended up here on your doorstep.” 

Nate leaned forward giving Ray a tap on the knee. “Well you're here now and for what it’s worth I’m glad. The sofa is yours to crash on for as long as you need. We’ll talk more about what's going on in that hyperactive brain of yours but for now I think getting some food and probably a good night's rest is of top priority.” 

Nate realised that as he said it that he meant every word there was no way he was going to let Ray up and disappear again and. If he could help him get his head straight, then he would damn well do it.

“Sounds good, Sir “

“Nate, not ‘sir’ anymore, Ray. How about I go order us some food. Pizza work for you?”

“Yeah Sir—Nate. That would be good.” 

The rest of the night passed quietly: Nate ribbing Ray about his inability to eat with out wearing it and Ray calling him a masochistic overachiever when Nate admitted he was, in fact, doing a double degree in both Political Science and Business. The only slightly uncomfortable conversations came about when Ray had quietly admitted that his girlfriend had actually dumped him the day they shipped out for OIF. 

“It sucked, you know, getting that letter. Wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. What about you? You have someone waiting for your Ivy League ass to get back?” Ray asked.

Nate looked up from his laptop were he was trying to make sense of the paper he had to write, his brow furrowed slightly. 

“No, not really. There was someone but we split before I went to O.C.S. They were not happy about me joining up.” Nate hesitated before he continued, unsure how truthful he should be but deciding that showing Ray he trusted him may be a good thing. “D.A.D.T made it a bitch too and he was not ready to become a guilty secret.”

Nate looked over to Ray waiting for a reaction not expecting the sad, wistful smile. “Shit, Nate, that must have sucked. You’re probably too good for him anyway.”

“Thanks Ray.”

A sleepy ‘welcome’ came from the sofa. 

The next time Nate looked up from his work he saw Ray curled up on the sofa sound asleep. The sharp angles that made up Ray were somehow softened in sleep. The tense set of his jaw relaxed and his face looking painfully young. Getting up, Nate found spare blankets and a pillow. Using hard-won recon skills, he managed to get the pillow under Ray’s head and a blanket thrown over him against the chill of the night without waking him . Switching off the TV and lights, he headed into the bedroom. Somehow he had taken on a depressed Devil Dog that needed a lot of care and nurturing. He found he didn’t mind. Oh, Brad and Mike were going to give him so much shit about this but they would do the same if it was them.


	2. Recon is just another word for snooping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Yup, you're both hot and can cook.” Ray felt his face go hot. Oh shit, I said the hot part out loud,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It goes with out saying no disrespect to the actors who portrayed these men or the actual Men
> 
> A big shout out to Cherlocked and bulma90 for trying to deal with my ballistic aproach to spelling and Grammar 
> 
> any mistakes are mine all mine :)

The first thing Ray became aware of was the feel of the soft pillow under his head, and the second was the awfully good smell of something  cooking. Sitting up, he stretched arms above his head. The pop of joints and twinge of muscles warming up felt good. Nate’s sofa was nirvana compared to some of the lumpy motel beds he had slept in over the last couple of months.

Peering over the sofa he could see Nate bustling about in the small kitchen. Nate was dressed in a loose pair of sweatpants and a baggy old T-shirt, moving with easy grace back and forth in the small kitchen. His hair had grown out and he no longer had that broken look. All in all, the lieutenant looked good; civilian life agreed with him.

Ray could admit to himself that his habit of observing Nate had started back when he had first become Bravos Lieutenant, getting a sense of the man who was going to lead them. He first thought Nate was too young, and, yes he would admit it, too pretty to be any good. But it did not take long for Ray to see the resolve and steel in the man. The fact that he covered their asses after the espresso incident proved to him he would try to look out for them. He watched the epic bromance between Brad and the Lieutenant with humour, and he was man enough to admit to a twinge of jealousy at the ease of which the two could communicate. 

He was not sure when his recon of the Lieutenant went from wanting to know who his lieutenant was to an almost impossible need to see a glimpse of green eyes and a half-formed smile. He did not want to think on why those things could give him more energy and will to carry on than a truckload of Ripped Fuel. He definitely didn’t want to think on why a pair of green eyes and lips parted in a soft smirk had him coming harder than any vision of a porno hottie ever had. That confused the shit out of him but he found he was also okay with it.

Coming back stateside had changed everything. Nate made Captain, then told the Marine corps to shove it so to speak.  Brad left for England and Ray knew he was not going to re-up when the time came, but he also knew he had no fucking idea what he was going to do with his life. He went home and found it still sucked there just as much as it had before he left and that his life was in some sort of holding pattern. Nothing felt right. 

 

Ray’s stomach chose that point to announce its interest in the food he could smell. Ray could see Nate looking over at him, sea green eyes sparkled in mirth. 

“From that sound, I take it you're ready to eat? Come on. Food’s up, coffee is nearly ready,” Nate said, gesturing to the worn-looking kitchen table where a plate was already laid out for Ray.

“I was just waiting for the coffee to finish then come wake you,” he said,  motioning to the coffee pot. 

Moving from the sofa, Ray took his place at the table. His plate was filled with what looked like a oversized pancake. The scent of of apple and cinnamon wafted up from the plate.

“This smells awesome, who knew you were Nigella Lawson in hiding?” Ray shoved a forkful of the pancake into his mouth, groaning in pleasure.  It tasted even better than it smelled.  

“Did you just compare me to Nigella?” Nate’s eyes crinkled, and Ray could see the amused smirk on his face.

“Yup, you're both hot and can cook.” Ray felt his face go hot.  _ Oh shit, I said the hot part out loud, _ he thought, shoveling another forkful of food into his mouth before he said anything else 

“I’ll take that complement. Mind you, coming from someone who thinks Chef Boyardee is the height of food nirvana.” Nate said, then the ass actually winked at him. 

Ray decided then to put all of his attention into eating and trying to stop blushing like a schoolgirl. 

“So do you feel up to a trip out? Need to go to the store, then though we could go do something,”  Nate said. 

“Sounds good. What do you have in mind Sir?”  Ray could not help but let that “sir” out just to see Nate's reaction.

“Smart ass. Hmm I was thinking we could do the Sip of Boston Brewery tour if you're up for it,” Nate suggested, moving from the table and starting to clean away the breakfast dishes. 

“That sounds cool, but don't you have school or work? I don't want you messing your schedule up. Shit homes, I was not even sure this was still your place when I got here yesterday.”

Nate turned from the sink.  “ I am free for the next couple of days. I work a couple of days at the Law library, but I am  not on till Saturday morning, so today I am all yours.”

Nate turned back to the sink and started washing up. Ray snagged the dishcloth that hung from the oven and started drying. It was scary how normal and natural it felt.

While Nate disappeared to take a shower, Ray grabbed his duffle that he had left in the hall and rummaged for what he hoped was at least some semi-clean clothes. He did not have that much to choose from: a fairly clean pair of black stovepipe jeans and a long-sleeve T-shirt that was not too stained.  His jacket would hide the worst of it. He would have to ask Nate if he had a washer he could use before he hit the road again.

Ray’s gaze swept the living room: entertainment unit—check, Xbox One—check, and cool DVDs and CDs, all neat and ordered alphabetically.  No surprise there.

Getting up from the lounge, he walked over to the two bookcases against the far wall finding school and history books, and books on politics. Again, no surprise there either. But the second bookshelf was full of surprises: sci-fi books by all the greats and a large collection of fantasy novels.  _ Hmm, our Nate is a bit of  nerd. _ Ray found that rather endearing and something he could definitely mock him about. Walking down the small hall, he saw the door to the left that lead to the bathroom from the sounds of the water running and what sounded suspiciously like Nate singing Bananarama's “Cruel Summer.”Fighting back a laugh, Ray continued his recon of Nate's apartment. The door to the right lead to the master bedroom and at the end of the hall to the left it looked like another room. Pushing the door open, the room was, in fact, was another bedroom but Nate obviously used it as a junk room since it held no bed but just lots of boxes. 

 

While Ray had been caught up in his snooping, he had not noticed that the shower had stopped or that a shirtless Nate was standing behind him rubbing a towel through his wet hair. 

“How's the snooping going?” Nate asked, his  voice muffled by the towel. 

Ray felt a smirk form and could not help but let his gaze linger just a bit over the flat plains of Nate’s belly. Luckily Nate still had his head buried in his towel getting the last of the water out of his hair to notice. 

_ Jesus get a hold of yourself Person, no crushing on the Lieutenant. Down that path lies madness. _

“I am a trained marine  , its reconnaissance, getting the lay of the land so to speak”quipped Ray.

“Recon is just another word for snooping Ray, admit it,” said Nate, grinning as he threw his wet towel at Ray. “I'll finish getting ready then we can head out.”

 

Getting to spend the day with Nate and do some tourist shit sounded like it might be fun and the bonus would be getting to spend time with Nate. After that, then he could work out what he was going to do.


End file.
